I crossed the border!

Well, it is my first day here in Quebec and I am awed. The city has depth, history, and a beautiful language. None of which I can understand, well ok, just the last part.

My new roommate, Justin, gave me a tour of the apartment when he came home last night. With every intricate detail he could afford, though I think he liked practicing his English. Or he was just being super nice. He is a social worker, which I am led to believe is a political student. He was working on his parties platform last night before he came back. The way he explained it, with so many words, he was on the left- left side. I told him I was a democrat and he laughed saying... you like Obama?? It was a good start.

Last night I arrived around 9pm, only getting lost once, taking me over a breathtaking bridge. I saw the street I was supposed to drive onto but they had three highways crossing in one spot and I was terrified. Since I am awful with directions, of course I went the wrong way. After my tour, I realized that I probably couldn't stay where I was parked because there was construction all over turnbull (the street I live on).

Then I got lost again, and again, it was beautiful. The mixture between well kept 200+ year old buildings and neon lights was mesmerizing!

I start work tomorrow but here are a few things I found different/ amusing while driving through Canada.

• Green lights blink (apparently so you can turn left; and go left first).
• Random words add the letter 'u' in them. Like 'labour,' and 'moulding.'
• You have to hold the handle down while pumping gas.
• Everything is in kilometers on road signs and gas is measured in liters.
  
• There are no websites, for almost everything! This is at least in Quebec. I'm mostly the most perturbed by the fact that I can't look up parking.